MLB Player News

Santillan was summoned to close out the game against the Diamondbacks with a one-run lead in the ninth. He worked a clean inning, inducing three straight groundouts to end the game with just his third save of the season to go with an underwhelming 5.67 ERA across 27 innings.

Garcia returns to Kansas City’s infield mix after missing nearly two months with a muscle strain in his left hand. It’s been a bit of a lost season in the wake of last year’s 16-homer, 23-steal breakout campaign as he’s hit just 261/.320/.373 with three homers, 30 RBI and five steals in 294 plate appearances so far. He’s an impact fantasy contributor when he’s healthy, which gives Garcia a shot at fantasy relevance over the final six weeks of the year.

Pasquantino returns from the injured list after missing nearly three weeks with right wrist soreness. The 28-year-old first baseman has been battling the issue since suffering a hamate fracture back in June.

Thomas returns to the majors as long relief depth for Kansas City after being claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier this month. He’s spent time with three different organizations over the last month.

There simply isn’t a spot for Rojas with Maikel Garcia back from the injured list. The 32-year-old is merely organizational infield depth at this stage of his career. He hit .224 (17-for-76) with one homer and one steal in 30 games for Kansas City.

Cuas’s latest stint with the Royals is going to be remembered for his hesitation delivery to Dodgers slugger Max Muncy. That’s pretty much it. The 32-year-old heads back to the minors after forging a respectable 1.64 ERA across 11 innings of work.

Kansas City has decided to end the Marte experiment after he hit .242/.298/.314 with two homers and two steals across 168 plate appearances as a reserve outfielder this season. The 37-year-old veteran has put together a remarkable 15-year career dating back to 2012, but his days as a fantasy-relevant option have been over for nearly a half-decade at this juncture.

Lawlar, who missed two months with a hamstring strain, just hit five homers in the final four games of his rehab assignment with Double-A Amarillo. He was used only in center field during his rehab stint, so the D-backs clearly intend to use him there, probably in a job share with Ryan Waldschmidt. Waldschmidt can move to left when both are in the lineup. There’s a chance Lawlar will offer some mixed-league value, but he’d need regular playing time and that doesn’t seem assured right now. Of course, the homer binge has to help his cause.

Nolan Arenado is avoiding the injured list for now, so Locklear loses his spot with Jordan Lawlar back. It was odd that the D-backs limited him to playing against lefties, especially since he was so hot in Triple-A before being recalled last month. He ended up hitting .278/.357/.444 in 42 plate appearances for Arizona.

Martinez, who was emerging as Arizona’s closer when he was hurt last year, returns 14 months after Tommy John surgery. He pitched four hitless innings with six strikeouts and one walk in four rehab appearances. He’s yet to pitch on back-to-back days, and the D-backs will want to be careful with him. Still, he could quickly become a candidate for save chances.

With Justin Martinez back, Carrillo loses his place in the Arizona bullpen despite having allowed only two runs — one earned — in 13 2/3 innings since being called up on July 21.